Winch

ABSTRACT

A multiple-speed winch having a plurality of independently rotatable pinions coaxial with a drive shaft, drive linkages of varying mechanical advantage connecting these pinions to the winch drum and a shaft engager for engaging a selected pinion to the drive shaft. The shaft engager includes drive cams associated with the pinions and mounted for movement between an extended position which prevents relative rotation of pinion and shaft a retracted position which permits rotation; selective extension of the drive cams causes the shaft to drive selected pinions.

United States Patent 1,413,292 4/1922 Rauscher lnventor John HenryCarter Weston, Mass. Appl. No. 799,802 Filed Feb. 17, 1969 Patented Aug.17, 1971 Assignee Aeromarine Corporation Weston, Mass.

WINCH 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl. Field 0! Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,191,451 6/1965 Dluhosch 3,319,492 5/1967 Magnuson PrimaryExaminer-l-1arvey C. Hornsby Attorney-Martin Kirkpatrick ABSTRACT: Amultiple-speed winch having a plurality of independently rotatablepinions coaxial with a drive shaft, drive linkages of varying mechanicaladvantage connecting these pinions to the winch drum and a shaft engagerfor engaging a selected pinion to the drive shaft. The shaft engagerincludes drive cams associated with the pinions and mounted for movementbetween an extended position which prevents relative rotation of pinionand shaft a retracted position which permits rotation; selectiveextension of the drive cams causes the shaft to drive selected pinions.

PATENTED AUG] 7 |97l @EEEEE U m 1 SHEEI 1 OF 3 lllllllllllllllll llll l|1 I II PATENIED we: 7 |97| SHEET 2 OF 3 PATENTEU AUG 17 1971 3599.937

SHEET 3 [IF 3 .so that the high-speed shaft.

WINCH This invention relates to a multiple-speed winch.

The primary object of the inventionis to provide a winch having aselection of power ratios and provision for changing from one ratio toanother. rapidly and conveniently even when the winch drum is underload.Another object of the invention is to provide such a winch which, withrespect to its hauling capacity and mechanical strength is solightweight and compact as to be excellently suited for use aboardhigh-performance sailboats.

The invention features a shaft engager for transmitting rotary motion ofa drive shaft to any of a plurality of independently rotatable pinionscoaxial with the shaft, the shaft engager including a plurality of drivecams each associated with a given pinion and mounted to the shaft formovement from a first extended positionengaging the associated pinionand preventing relative rotation between the pinion and the shaft (in atleast one direction) to a second retracted-position permitting relativerotation, and means for selectively extending the drive cams and thusengaging the drive shaft to selected pinions.

In preferred embodiments, each pinion is associated with a drive linkageconnecting it to an independently rotatable winch drum, the drivelinkages being of varying mechanical advantage. The choice of theparticular drive cams that are extended iscontrolled by the angularorientation of a rotatable cam-control rod within the drive shaft andcoaxial with itLIT he drive shaft is freely rotatable in the reversedirection with respect to all the pinions (permitting the shaft to becranked backwards without moving the winch drum, andalso permitting thewinch drum to be "pulled through" in the forward direction (cg. bymanually hauling in a line wrapped around the winch drum withoutrotating the drive shaft or crank). Three pinions are employed, a first(high-speed) pinion directly connected to the winch drum, a secondmediumspeed pinion connected to the winch drum through a stepdown drivelinkage, and a third low speed pinion connected to the drum throughanother stepdown drive linkagehaving a greater stepdown ratio. The winch.drum is positively prevented from rotating in a backward direction by abasernounted pawl mechanism. The winch drum is forwardly rotatable withrespect to the lowspeed linkage, providing isolation of that linkagefrom the drum. Forstrength and lightness the body of the winch drum ismade of cast nylon.

Other objects, features, and advantages will appear from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention taken togetherwith the attached drawings thereof, in

which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire winch;

FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the driveshaft and shaftengager;

FIG. 3 shows diagrammatically the base, drive linkages, and portions ofthe drive shaft;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG.11.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view ofithe pawl mechanism used to prevent reverserotation of the winch drum taken online 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the drive shaft, drive cams, cam-controlrod, and high-speed pinion taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3 with the pinionengaged to the drive shaft;

FIG. 7 is a similar view but-with the cam-control rod rotated pinion isdisengaged fromthedrive There is shown in FIG. .1 the winch drum 22rotatably mounted to fixed base 24,'the drive shaft 26 concentric withthe drum and also rotatable-with respect to base 24, crank 28 secured tothe upper end of the drive shaft and provided with a handle 30. Asimilar crank (not shown) can be secured to the lower end of the driveshaft instead of (or inaddition to the upper crank (thus permittingbelow-deck operation of :the winch or two-handed operation).

pinion 34, and in drive-cam recesses 56 to Concentric with drive shaft26 is high-speed pinion".32. (As used herein, pinion" is not intended tobe limited to gears alone, but includes any comparable member driven bya rotating coaxial shaft. In the preferred embodiment, highspeed pinion32 is directly keyed to thewinch drum 22 but it may, in otherembodiments, be integral with the drum.)'Also concentric withdrive shaft26 are medium- -s peed pinion 34 connected to the drum through astepdown drive linkage (not shown), and low speed pinion 36 alsoconnected to the drum through another stepdown drive linkage (notshown). When high-speed pinion 32 is engaged to shaft.36, each fullrotation of crank 28 causes a full rotation of drum 22 with respect tobase 24; when medium-speed pinion 34 is engaged to the shaft, 4.25 fullrotations of crank 28 are required to produce a full rotation of thedrum; when low speed pinion '36 is engaged to the-shaft, 11.05 fullrotations of crank 28- are required to produce a'full rotation of thedrum. Inthe preferred embodiment, the ratio of crank radius to drumradius is about 4.5 to

1. Consequently, the winch provides power ratios (mechanical advantages)of about 4,5, 19, and 50.

Referring to FIG. 2, the shaft 26 if keyed to crank-nut 40 by pins 42cooperating with split-bores 43 and is further secured by retaining nut44. Attachment of crank 28 to crank-nut 40 thus holds .shaft26 and crank28 fixed with respect to each other. Shaft26 contains three sets ofopposed drive-cam recesses 52, 54, and 56, the two recesses of each setbeing apart on the drive shaft and the three sets of recesses beingaxially aligned. Drive-cams 62 with associated spring elements 62a aremounted in drive-cam recesses52 to permit the engagement of shaft 26 tohigh-speed pinion 32. Similar drive cams and spring elements (not shown)are mounted-in drive-cam recesses 54 to permit engagement ofmedium-speed permit engagement of low speed 'pinion 36.'Spacer 35 fixesthe axial separation between pinions 34 and '36 and facilitates theirrotation.

Cam-control rod'70 is inserted in axial bore 71 of drive shaft 26 and isrotatable within the drive shaft by means of control knob 73 secured toits upper end. Thecam-control rod is provided with three sets of opposedcam-control grooves 72, 74, and'76, the two grooves of each set being180 apart on the cam-control rod and the three sets of grooves 72register with cams 62,'the cams are extended by spring. elements 620 (asshown in-FIG. 6) and high-speed pinion 32 is rotatably engaged to shaft26. The earns 62 transmit forward (clockwise) rotation of the driveshaft 26 to internal teeth 33 of high-speed pinion 32, and keys 32asecure the pinion to winch drum 22 so that the drum-rotates with driveshaft 26 when crank 28 is forward rotated.

When cam control'rod70 is rotated an additional 60 camcontrol grooves 74register with the corresponding pair of drive cams, causing 'the cams tobe extended and engaging medium-speed pinion 34 to drive shaft 26.Because cams 62 no longer register with grooves 72, spring elements62acan no longer extend'the cams, and high-speedpinion '32 isdisengaged'from the drive shaft (as shown inFIG. 7.). Mediumspeed pinion34, when engaged to shaft 26, drives winch drum 22 through themedium-speed drive linkage, the stepdown gear train between pinion 34and internal'ring gear 23 secured within drum '22 (see FIGS. '3 and 4).

A further 60 rotation of cam-control rod 70 causes camcontrol :grooves76 to register with the corresponding pair of drive cams and extensionof these cams engages low speed pinion 36 to drive shaft 26. Bothhigh-speed pinion 32 and medium-speed pinion 34 are'then disengaged fromthe drive shaft. The low speed pinion drives winch drum 22 through thelow speed drive linkage, the stepdowngear train between pinion 36 andinternalring gear 23. Crank nut 49 is provided with notches 41 whichcooperate with spring-loaded studs 45 within controlknob 73 (see FIG.4).to ensure correct angular registration of the selected pair of drivecams withthe corresponding cam-control grooves on cam-control rod 70.Control knob 73 can be manually rotated to select the desired mechanicaladvantage even when the winch drum is under load, provided that noforward torque is applied to crank 28 while changing speeds. (Because ofthe pawl mechanism previously referred to, backward rotation of theloaded drum is prevented when application of torque to the drum isinterrupted.)

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the base, drive linkages, andportions of the drive shaft. Medium-speed pinion 34, when engaged todrive shaft 26, rotates clockwise causing idler 192 to drive gear 104,which in turn drives internal ring gear 23 (fixedly secured to winchdrum 22). When the winch drum 22 is pulled through in the forwarddirection, gear 104, idler 102, and medium-speed pinion 34 are rotatedby the drum, but the rotation of pinion 34 is not transmitted to driveshaft 26 or crank 28. The drive shaft is isolated from the pinionbecause the corresponding drive cams operate only in a forward directionand slip when the direction of relative shaft rotation is reversed (seeFIG. 6). This isolation feature applies similarly to both the high andlow speed pinions 32 and 36. Forward rotation of either of these twopinions is also isolated from the drive shaft and crank. (There is afurther, later to be described, isolation between the winch and thelow-speed drive linkage.)

Pawl mechanism 110 prevents the winch drum 22 from rotating in a reverse(counterclockwise) direction. The details of pawl mechanism H are shownin FIG. 5. Internal ratchet 113 is fixedly secured to base 24. Pawlsupport 111 is coaxial with and secured to the underside of gear 104.Pawls 112 are spring-loaded by spring elements 1120 to engage internalratchet 113, thereby permitting only forward (clockwise) rotation of thewinch drum 22 and preventing reverse rotation. This feature is importantin that when the winch is under load, the crank 28 can be releasedwithout permitting the load to back oil and without risk of the crankbeing accelerated by the load and thus endangering the operator.

Low speed pinion 36, when engaged to shaft 26, rotates clockwise,driving idler 120 which in turn drives one-way gear 122 clockwise.internal teeth 12 3 of one-way gear 122 engage pawls 125 secured to theunderside of pinion 126, causing pinion 326 also to be driven clockwiseand to transmit its forward rotation to internal ring gear 23 and thusto the winch drum 22. When the winch is pulled through in a forwarddirection, the pawls 125 do not engage one-way gear 122, andconsequently the only portion of the low speed drive linkage that iscaused to rotate is pinion 126; by reducing friction, this makes iteasier to manually haul a line around the winch when no mechanicaladvantage is required.

Further structural features of the winch mechanism are shown in FIG. 4.The base 24 is fixedly secured to gear housing 25 which is in turnfixedly secured to vertical sleeve 27. Gear housing 25 provides aconvenient mounting for the various elements of the medium and low speeddrive linkages; sleeve 27 supports the drive shaft bearings (e.g. 92 and94) and drum bearings (e.g. 96 and 98).

The winch drum body 93 is preferably made of cast nylon, sheathed by aprotective metal shell 95 at those portions of the drum periphery mostsubject to wear from the lines to be hauled, and lined by a metal sleeve99. Drum body 93 can be cast integrally with ring gear 23 (the outersurface of which is provided with threads 23a to prevent relativemovement between the drum body and ring gear). Preferably, thesethreads, which are of low pitch, are roughened to reduce the chance ofrotational movement of the gear with respect to the drum body and areoriented so that any torque which occurs when the winch is underloadtends to bias the gear 23 into the drum body.

Proper choice of materials can greatly increase the strength anddurability of the winch and can provide a significant reduction inweight for a given hauling capacity. For marine use, satisfactoryresults have been obtained by using a corrosion-resistant type 316"stainless steel for base 24, gear housing 25, and sleeve 27, and aharder high-strength type 7-4 PH" steel for drive shaft 26, cam-controlrod 70, and the drive linkages. Yet stronger steels (e.g. type 440") canbe employed where operating requirements so dictate.

The preferred embodiment described above and shown in the figuresprovided a three-speed winch, but obviously the same principles ofconstruction and operation can be applied to other winches with agreater or lesser number of speeds and of widely varying size andhauling capacity. Further obvious modifications permit the winch to beconverted readily to powered operation.

Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are withinthe following claims.

. What I claim is:

1. A multiple-speed winch comprising:

a rotatable drive shaft;

a coaxial, independently rotatable drum;

means to impart rotation secured to said drive shaft; a plurality ofaxially spaced pinions coaxial with said drive shaft and independentlyrotatably with respect thereto, said drive shaft extending through saidpinions;

a plurality of drive linkages of varying mechanical advantage, each ofsaid linkages being associated with one of said pinions and drivinglyconnecting said pinion to said drum;

a shaft engager adapted to selectively engage each of said pinions tosaid shaft to prevent relative rotation in at least one directionbetween said each pinion and said shaft, said shaft engager including aplurality of drive cams, each of said pinions being associated with atleast one of said drive cams, and means for selectively extending saidcams and thereby causing said drive shaft to selectively engage anassociated pinion and thereby to drive said drum through the drivelinkage associated with said pinion.

2. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1, further comprising means toprevent backward rotation of said drum.

3. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1 wherein one of said drivelinkages has a mechanical advantage of unity.

4. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1 wherein portions of at least oneof said drive linkages are isolated from said drum by one-way driveelements and are thus enabled to remain stationary when said drum ispulled through in a forward direction.

5. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1 wherein said drum comprises anylon drum body.

6. A multiple-speed winch comprising:

a fixed base;

a drive shaft mounted for rotation upon said base;

a winch drum coaxial with said drive shaft and independently rotatablewith respect to said base;

means secured to said drive shaft for imparting rotary motion thereto;

a plurality of axially spaced pinions coaxial with said drive shaft andindependently rotatable with respect thereto, said drive shaft extendingthrough said pinions;

a plurality of drive linkages of varying mechanical advantage, each ofsaid linkages being associated with one of said pinions and drivinglyconnecting said pinion to said drum;

a plurality of sets of drive cams, each of said sets having at least onecam and associated with one of said pinions, the cams comprised by eachof said sets mounted to said shaft for movement from a first radiallyextended position, wherein said cams engage said associated pinion andprevent relative forward rotation of said shaft with respect to saidpinion, to a second retracted position, wherein said cams do not engagesaid associated pinion and permit relative foreward rotation of saidshaft with respect to said pinion;

a cam-control rod coaxial with said shaft and rotatable with respectthereto, the surface of said cam-control rod comprising a plurality ofsets of cam-control grooves, each such set having at least one groove,adapted to be positioned to cooperate with an associated set of drivecams, and angularly spaced from each other such set of grooves;

the position assumed by the drive cams comprised by each set of drivecams being controlled by the angular position radially extendedposition, to engage the associated pinion, and, through the associateddrive linkage, to drive said drum;

whereby the angular position of said cam-control rod selects themechanical advantage of said multiple-speed winch.

Patent No. 3,599,937 Dated August 17, 197

InventoflX) John Henry Carter It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

In the Abstract, line 8, after "shaft" add "and";

Column 2, line 11, "36" should be "26";

Column 2, line 20, "L5" should be 4.5";

Column 2, line ll, after "grooves" add "being spaced 60 apart. when thecam-control rod is rotated so that grooves";

Column 2, line 67, 49" should be 40";

Column 3, line 21, after "winch" add "drum"; Column 3, line 71, "7-H"should be "17- 4";

Column 4, claim 6, line 65, "foreward" should be "forward";

Column 5, claim 6, line 3, ositionv'i'should read positions Signed andsealed this 14th day of March 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. A multiple-speed winch comprising: a rotatable drive shaft; acoaxial, independently rotatable drum; means to impart rotation securedto said drive shaft; a plurality of axially spaced pinions coaxial withsaid drive shaft and independently rotatably with respect thereto, saiddrive shaft extending through said pinions; a plurality of drivelinkages of varying mechanical advantage, each of said linkages beingassociated with one of said pinions and drivingly connecting said pinionto said drum; a shaft engager adapted to selectively engage each of saidpinions to said shaft to prevent relative rotation in at least onedirection between said each pinion and said shaft, said shaft engagerincluding a plurality of drive cams, each of said pinions beingassociated with at least one of said drive cams, and means forselectively extending said cams and thereby causing said drive shaft toselectively engage an associated pinion and thereby to drive said drumthrough the drive linkage associated with said pinion.
 2. Themultiple-speed winch of claim 1, further comprising means to preventbackward rotation of said drum.
 3. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1wherein one of said drive linkages has a mechanical advantage of unity.4. The multiple-speed winch of claim 1 wherein portions of at least oneof said drive linkages are isolated from said drum by one-way driveelements and are thus enabled to remain stationary when said drum ispulled through in a forward direction.
 5. The multiple-speed winch ofclaim 1 wherein said drum comprises a nylon drum body.
 6. Amultiple-speed winch comprising: a fixed base; a drive shaft mounted forrotation upon said base; a winch drum coaxial with said drive shaft andindependently rotatable with respect to said base; means secured to saiddrive shaft for imparting rotary mOtion thereto; a plurality of axiallyspaced pinions coaxial with said drive shaft and independently rotatablewith respect thereto, said drive shaft extending through said pinions; aplurality of drive linkages of varying mechanical advantage, each ofsaid linkages being associated with one of said pinions and drivinglyconnecting said pinion to said drum; a plurality of sets of drive cams,each of said sets having at least one cam and associated with one ofsaid pinions, the cams comprised by each of said sets mounted to saidshaft for movement from a first radially extended position, wherein saidcams engage said associated pinion and prevent relative forward rotationof said shaft with respect to said pinion, to a second retractedposition, wherein said cams do not engage said associated pinion andpermit relative foreward rotation of said shaft with respect to saidpinion; a cam-control rod coaxial with said shaft and rotatable withrespect thereto, the surface of said cam-control rod comprising aplurality of sets of cam-control grooves, each such set having at leastone groove, adapted to be positioned to cooperate with an associated setof drive cams, and angularly spaced from each other such set of grooves;the position assumed by the drive cams comprised by each set of drivecams being controlled by the angular position of said cam-control rod,said cam-control rod being rotatable to a plurality of predeterminedpositions, each of said predetermined position being such as to bringthe cams in a selected set of drive cams into angular registration withthe grooves in the associated set of cam-control grooves, therebycausing said cams to move to said first radially extended position, toengage the associated pinion, and, through the associated drive linkage,to drive said drum; whereby the angular position of said cam-control rodselects the mechanical advantage of said multiple-speed winch.